Family Seal - Iejirushi

A possession mark that indicates the ownership of each family. In a broad sense, it includes wooden seals, ear seals, kiln seals, sail seals, etc., but generally it refers to marks attached to household goods such as tools, geta (wooden clogs), and umbrellas used by each household. Sometimes written with ink, but later branding came to be used. Many are simple marks such as ┐○∧ combined with the letters of the family name. Some family seals indicate the relationship between the main family and a branch family, and by attaching a mark of the same lineage, it is likely to have emphasized the sense of kinship. Kamon is also a type of family seal, but it originated as a highly decorative seal attached by nobles to oxcarts, etc., and became the crest of samurai families in the Edo period and spread to the general public. Its origin is somewhat different from that of family seals, which arose out of necessity from the communal living of common people. However, the motive for samurai use was to distinguish themselves from others, which is the same as the element of a family seal.

[Kamata Hisako]

"Kitakoura Folklore" (included in "The Complete Collection of Yanagita Kunio 25", 1964, Chikuma Shobo)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

各家の所有を示す占有標のこと。広義には木印、耳印、窯印、帆印なども含むが、一般には各家庭で用いる道具や下駄(げた)、傘など、家財につける印をいう。墨で書くこともあるが、のちには焼き印を用いるようになった。┐○∧など、簡単な印に家名の文字などを組み合わせたものが多い。家印には、本家・分家関係を表すものもあり、同一系統の印をつけることにより、同族意識を強調したものであろう。家紋も家印の一種であるが、これは公家(くげ)が牛車(ぎっしゃ)などにつけた装飾的要素の強い印から、江戸時代に武家の紋章となり、一般に伝播(でんぱ)したもので、庶民の共同生活のなかから必然的に生じた家印とは、その発生においてやや性格を異にしている。しかし武家が用いた動機は他と識別することであり、家印の要素と同一である。

［鎌田久子］

『『北小浦民俗誌』（『定本柳田国男集 25』所収・1964・筑摩書房）』

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